At the top end of the Eastern Caribbean lies a verdant island that, whilst just under 90 km2 in size manages to pack in two different countries: the constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands – Sint Maarten; and the French overseas collectivity – Sint Martin.
How this came to be, is a story of centuries of history, of Spanish discovery, European colonial wrangling and eventually with a bit of Franco-Dutch pragmatism to divide the island and play nicely at the Treaty of Concordia in 1648. This position has lasted to this present day, where you will find two very different sides to the island, but with no hard border to prevent the mingling of its population and visitors.
The French still managed to get the better deal, taking 60% of the island, and whilst this was probably due to some French warships anchored off the island; the more colourful version of this story is that the French and Dutch had a drinking competition before setting off to divide the island…leading to the Dutch having a bit of a sleep after imbibing their Jenever (Dutch Gin) whilst the French stayed awake after their wine and were able to cover more of the island to claim!
Today there are still two distinct sides to the island, the Dutch side is more like a piece of the US, with dollars commonly accepted, hotels are more resort style, US style plug sockets, big cruise ships parked in the bay, lively bars and restaurants and super-sized portions of BBQ eateries lining the island’s roads.
Sint Martin, on the other hand has a much more laid back Gallic feel; euros are the currency, accommodation is a bit more boutique, plug sockets are sensible, eating out is more fine dining (hence pricey) and an added bonus for us Europeans is that you can even get EU roaming on your phone!
Getting There & Getting Around
The island is well connected with the main airport on the Dutch side that has multiple flights daily arriving from the US and Europe and the surrounding islands; and if that wasn’t enough the French side (never wanting to be outdone) also has its own smaller sized airport at Grand Case that connects a lot of the French islands in the area.
Cruise ships will arrive in Great Bay every couple of days or so, disgorging thousands of day trippers and immediately transforming the sleepy Philipsburg with a hum of activity.
There are also numerous ferry services running between the islands closeby – on the Dutch side at Philipsburg The Great Bay Express ferry runs to St Barths several times per day (just 45 mins away); Makana runs to the natural haven of Saba (2hrs). On the French side you can also catch the ferry to St Barths plus a short hop to Anguila. At time of writing this (June 2022) day trips to St Barths and Saba did not need any special covid measures to go / come back to St Maarten, but Anguila did need PCR testing and forms to be filled out.
To get around the island we recommend getting a car, the island is tiny but you will often want to jump in the car to explore, do some shopping or go out for food; outside the main hubs (and even within them) taxi services are quite spotty in availability and for sure there is no Uber! The heat and the narrow roads don’t make it so cycle friendly, so the air con of the car always wins!
Sint Maarten
Basing ourselves in the Divi Little Bay Beach resort, this side of the Island has the more attractions to keep you busy whilst on holiday: a visit to the capital of Philipsburg and it’s beautiful grand bay; the bright lights and big sounds of Simpson bay; the high octane (kerosene) Maho beach; a multitude of excursions and ribs, ribs, ribs!
Divi Little Bay Beach Resort
Sticking out on a spit of land sandwiched between the Grand Bay and the Little Bay this resort is made up up a hotel complex and freestanding low rise apartments that dot the peninsula. The apartments spacious and well equipped, most with a wonderful view of either Bay, so you won’t feel lacking in this home away from home.
Do be aware though that if you get a larger sized apartment (as we did) then you may end up quite a distance from the main centre of the resort, and even up a steep hill towards the fort (where we were first put before asking to be moved).
The resort itself has something for everyone; for the party crowd there are bar competitions, drinking games, karaoke, crab racing (!) at the lively beach bar; and for those that want to take it more easy there is a long stretch of beach to laze on, the quieter pool bar and a multitude of cascading swimming pools to chilax by as the sun goes down;
for water lovers you have the crystal clear water of little bay, the jettie that just begs to be leaped off of, and probably the best (perhaps only) good snorkeling on the island where beneath a floating Tiki Bar you’ll find parrot fish, scorpion fish, cuttlefish and all other species swimming through a sunken marine park of helicopter, plane, submarine, statues and shopping trolleys, that make for super underwater pictures.
The resort offers all inclusive, and whilst there is a fairly decent choice of bars and restaurants, if you plan to sightsee and want to get a taste for the local bbq flavours then it may not be worth adding another $100 per day and get tied to the resort…stock up on some booze from the duty free when you land and get your local mixicologist (Matt) to knock up some rum based cocktails served on your own terrace! For a walking alternative to the resort food you can also head down little Bay beach to the Gingerbread Cafe, that has a beach hut vibe along with some excellent food and renowned Monday night all you can eat bbq!
Philipsburg
The capital of the Dutch side is a mercurial place, where all the action seems to happen by day (especially when a cruise ship is docked) and after 7pm everything starts to close down, leaving a literal ghost town that throws a bit of a dodgy vibe if you are caught walking its streets after dark (another reason for that hire car).
But do visit as this has to be one of the most stunning beachfront capitals in the world…pure white sands on the doorstep of the ‘city’ and amazing azul waters that stretch out into the bay. Along the beach front make sure your have a pisco sour at Nazca and then sample the ‘best ribs in town’ at the friendly Pirate Rib Shack. Behind the beach front is a low key, colourful colonial looking town that has a few streets to spend an hour or so exploring.
Simpson Bay
Opposite to Philipsburg, by day a sleepy mish mash of strip mall type shopping and traffic, but by night this is where everyone goes to the hotels and bars that dot the coastline. This is where you can find a myriad of seafood (try Skip Jack’s for lobster and fish) and bbq restaurants, plus to pick up excursions around the island, from day cruising to the most excellent Rhino tours.
Rhino tours does not mean you’ll be on the back of a one horned mammal, but rather a watercraft that is a cross between a speedboat and jet ski; from Simpson bay you’ll motor northwards up the island, dodging the shipwrecks of Simpson bay lagoon (leftover from the 2017 storm), up the coast and into France by Marigold, the beaches of Friar’s Bay, Happy Bay, and Grand Case; with the apex at Creole Rock for a bit of snorkeling (some fish, a glimpse of a turtle but little else), before racing back down south as fast as your passenger will allow!
Maho Beach
Every island in the Caribbean has its one unique selling point, and for St Maarten it is Maho Beach and its proximity to the international airport. Its white sand and crystal clear waters would be enough to attract any discerning tourist, but add to it that huge behemoths of the sky almost land on top of you whilst sunbathing makes it a unique location in the world.
Get to the beach around 11am to stake out your spot (the beach is usually quite empty when there are no big flights) and typically around 11.30 the fun starts with the big planes from the US and Europe descending from the sky, almost so close that you can touch them. Arriving a bit earlier gives you time to line up your camera angles with the smaller planes that are constantly arriving.
The fun doesn’t stop with the landings, the beach also sits behind the takeoff zone for the planes, so if you feel up to it, look for the ‘Danger Jet Zone’ markings and be prepared to be sand blasted back into the sea…this is where your preparations for a good spot on the beach will probably be literally blown away.
The Sunset bar has the times of all the key flights, plus does a pretty decent lunch to sustain your plane watching…as weel as a perfect vantage point for incoming planes.
Saint Martin
A bit of a different spelling, new flag, and a different language, but still sharing the same small space and suddenly you are are in France and the EU! If you don’t pay attention then the border will just whizz by as you cross, but in some ways you end up in a different part of the world.
Despite the time it takes to get here, and the time difference of 6hrs that familiar feeling of home pervades and just makes the French side of this island just a little bit more comfortable…with EU roaming, euros and European plug sockets! The French side of the island has suffered much more from the 2017 storm that the Dutch side and is only just starting to make a comeback…but what a comeback!
Grand Case
Although Marigot is the capital of the French side, there is only one place to stay to enjoy this side of the island and that is Grand Case. A long sandy beach, beautiful clear water, gastronomy galore and boutique sea-front lodging that is a world away from the mass market Caribbean experience across the border.
We stayed at the wonderful Le Temps des Cerises (LTC) that had the type of beachfront room that is the stuff of Caribbean dreams…usually we are not ones for lounging about on our holidays, but LTC provides the exception where mornings were spent on the balcony watching the beach come to life and the planes coming into land, afternoons were for lounging on the beach, early evening back on the balcony with a rum cocktail and late evening enjoying some first class food.
Whilst most days follow this idyllic pattern, be warned that LTC also likes to host some beach parties now and again (typically on a Monday) and things can get quite noisy….but if you like beautiful people with shaved chests and lots of twerking then the all day beach party is a great spectacle to enjoy…especially from your VIP balcony spot! Despite being all day, the party day wrap up quite efficiently at 10.30pm so you can still get a good nights sleep.
If you have to leave the hotel then it will be to enjoy the fantastic cuisine that lies along the main street of Grand Case. Sint Martin is the home of ribs and Saint Martin is the home of lobster, as well as the great food of LTC some of our other favourites include – Bistrot Caraibes for snails and incredible lobster; The Cottage for lobster and foie gras lasagne; The Villa, that had yet more lobster in a semi open setting and a relaxed laid back feel. If you are missing your ribs though you can escape all this ‘cuisine’ and go to Lolos in the heart of the town where you’ll be seated outdoors with the smell of several bbqs wafting through the lively crowd.
Touring St Martin
To be honest the rest of St Martin does not have such big highlights that will make you want to move away from the perfect bit of paradise on Grand Case. The capital of Marigot is a sleepy little town that has a charming market area with many food spots along it
Across on the east side of the island you can take a short boat ride to Pinel island, set in a nature reserve that has some stunning aerial pictures that make it look like paradise within paradise. However the ferry point from the mainland is swamped with foul smelling seaweed (maybe it was the season for it), and after braving the smell you are rewarded with a tourist nightmare of beach-chairs galore and day tripping cruisers that made us pine for our simple beach at LTC!
The rest of the east cost of the island also seems to suffer from mass seaweed, so despite the beaches being long and pretty you’ll end up exiting the sea from any swims looking like a mer-person!
As far as snorkeling goes, along the West coast you’ll find a few spots that are worth a drive to, but for avid snorkelers such as ourselves, beyond little bay the snorkeling is not the big draw of this island. Baie Rouge is a pretty nice spot that has a swim around to a sea arch and you may even catch a glimpse of a turtle.
One other place that gets a lot of publicity on this side of the island is Lotterie Farm, set inland amongst forested valleys its publicity talks of a nature reserve but it feels it has been manufactured to give that tropical inland feel, with pools, cabanas and parties to attract the young cruise shippers. We visited with the promise of a zip lining the ‘fly zone extreme’ that is a couple of hours of zip lining through the canopy…however Lyssa’s beach body readiness meant that she was actually too light to do the route…so if you want to enjoy this then keep it towards the end of your stay after several nights of ribs and lobster!
So with tanned faces, sand in our toes and happy bellies we boarded our plane home, leaving the lucky tourists on Maho beach to get blown into the sea and us already thinking about our next destination…enjoy!
